A brief history of the mighty BMW M5

The iconic super-saloon is 30 years old. We chart its tyre-chewing development

Which brings us onto the fourth generation of the M5. A car that came with a V10. A V10.

The monster 5.0-litre engine was the result from BMW's Formula One expertise, here producing a titanic 507bhp and 384lb ft of torque, complete with a seven speed sequential gearbox sending power to the rear wheels. It had adaptive dampers, an engine-speed-sensitive diff lock, and more bespoke chassis componentry underneath. Clarkson really liked it, too.

All in, this M5 could accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds (a conservative estimate, it was widely acknowledged), won the 2005 and 2006 Engine of the Year Award and, derestricted, could hit 205mph. It was as successful as its predecessor, too: more than 20,500 E60 M5s were sold by the end of summer 2010.